Press-ganged

. . . I knew dam’ well it would run around Horse Guards and the clubs like wildfire in the morning . . . 
     “I say — you know Chinese Gordon's gone to the Sudan! Fact — and taken Flashman with him! Met him quite by chance at the station, told Wolseley and Cambridge he must have him along, wouldn’t dream of facing the Mahdi without him, They gave him his way, of course but wondered what Flashman, who’s retired, would think of being press-ganged at a moment’s notice. D’you what Flash Harry said, cool as you please? ‘Well, the least you can do, Gordon, is pay for my blasted ticket!’”


Flashman and the Tiger, pp.197-8, Harper Collins, paperback edition 2000.


Tags: Flashman, Flashman quotes, ticket.

The Mad Sapper

Well, soldiering under Joe Wolseley had been bad enough, but a at least he was sane. Gordon? I'd as soon go to war with the town drunk. The man wasn't safe — sticking forks in people and scattering tracts around railway carriages and accosting perfect strangers to see if they'd met Jesus lately, I ask you! No a holiday abroad was indicated before the Mad Sapper came recruiting.


Flashman and the Tiger, p.49, Harper Collins, paperback edition 2000.


Tags: Flashman, Flashman quotes, sapper.